Keith Thibodeaux, the chief technology officer for the city-parish government of Lafayette, was fired today in the wake of federal prosecutors' allegations that he took kickbacks from Belle Chasse tech vendor Mark St. Pierre, according to City-Parish President Joey Durel.

Ted Jackson, The Times-Picayune archiveEscorted by his attorney Edward Castaing Jr., Mark St. Pierre, center, and his wife, Stacey, enter the Hale Boggs Federal Building to be arraigned at U.S. District Court in November 2009.

St. Pierre and former New Orleans chief technology officer Greg Meffert are due to be tried in federal court in New Orleans in January. The government alleges that around $850,000 in payments that St. Pierre made to Meffert were kickbacks paid in return for the millions of dollars in no-bid technology work that Meffert steered to St. Pierre at City Hall.

U.S. Attorney Jim Letten's office filed a motion last week alleging that St. Pierre had also paid kickbacks to the top technology officers in Lafayette and Baton Rouge in exchange for work there.

According to the motion, St. Pierre hired Thibodeaux's wife, Celeste, in 2005 to work at $80 an hour under his contract with New Orleans. St. Pierre ultimately billed the city for roughly $100,000 for Celeste Thibodeaux's work, the motion says.

Around the same time St. Pierre hired Celeste Thibodeaux, his firm, NetMethods, won a $45,000 contract with the Lafayette government to provide technology consulting, the motion said. That was followed by a contract for crime cameras worth about $141,000.

The news release from Durel announcing Keith Thibodeaux's firing notes that he "has not been charged with any criminal conduct nor has he been informed that he will be charged."

But, it added, "federal prosecutors' characterization of Mr. Thibodeaux's involvement in the alleged scheme is a violation by Mr. Thibodeaux of LCG (Lafayette Consolidated Government) policy necessitating his immediate termination."

The statement also says that Lafayette government officials have been cooperating with the federal investigation into Meffert and St. Pierre for a year. It says that based on the filing by Letten's office, Lafayette officials reported the allegations about Thibodeaux to the state Board of Ethics Wednesday morning.

In Baton Rouge, according to prosecutors, St. Pierre landed lucrative crime-camera contracts after "showering" chief technology officer Don Evans with gifts, ranging from Saints tickets to a birthday "extravaganza" and several multi-night stays in New Orleans hotels.

Evans did not return messages seeking comment. His boss, acting chief administrative officer John Carpenter, said Wednesday that he is examining the matter.

"I don't have enough facts to be able to respond yet," Carpenter said. "The only thing I'm working off at this point is your newspaper article. We're conducting a factual investigation, and we may have comments when that is concluded."

Lawyers for the Mefferts and St. Pierre acknowledge the various payments, but say none were kickbacks. The money St. Pierre paid to Meffert was compensation for business that Meffert helped St. Pierre develop in cities outside New Orleans, they have said.